We have a large, well-educated workforce, including 23,000 students in local colleges and universities with 500 science and engineering students graduating each year.

News from the Science Initiative of Central Minnesota

Legislators Named to Bioscience Committee - Tuesday, February 10, 2009St. Cloud Representatives Larry Haws (DFL) and Steve Gottwalt (R) now serve on the Bioscience and Workforce Development Policy and Oversight Division Committee for the House of Representative. Gottwalt has been named Lead GOP through 2010.

SICM Featured at Day at the Capitol - Friday, February 06, 2009The Science Initiative of Central Minnesota was featured at the St. Cloud Day at the Capitol event on Feb. 5. The event provided an opportunity for SICM leaders and legislative officials to connect on key bioscience issues for this legislative session.

SCSU Opens Science Addition - Monday, February 02, 2009St. Cloud State University hosted a grand opening ceremony for the 35,000 square-foot addition to Robert H. Wick Science Building on Jan. 30. Campus and community leaders joined legislators and students in celebrating the $14.5 million addition, which opened this semester. The addition is part of a St. Cloud State science initiative that includes the $15 million renovation of Brown Hall and the proposed construction of a $44 million Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility.

CentraCare Hosts After Hours at New Surgery Center - Friday, January 30, 2009CentraCare Health System hosted Science Initiative After Hours in January at its new Surgery Center in St. Cloud. About 80 people attended the event and took tours of the new facility. Entellus Founder Tom Ressemann was the keynote speaker at the after hours event.

Entellus Founder Tom Ressemann to Speak at After Hours Event - Saturday, September 27, 2008Entellus Founder Tom Ressemann will speak at the SICM After Hours event on January 29 at CentraCare Health Plaza in St. Cloud. CentraCare Health System and MicroBiologics will sponosr the event and also share their growth plans.

SICM Sets Date for Next After Hours Event - Monday, September 15, 2008The Science Initiative of Central Minnesota will host its next After Hours event on January 29 at CentraCare Health Plaza in St. Cloud. The event aims to foster more networking opportunities between academic and business leaders and raise awareness about the bioscience opportunities in Central Minnesota.

After Hours Event Draws Crowd - Thursday, September 11, 2008The St. Cloud Alley Chat/SICM After Hours event on September 10 at Gray Plant Mooty in downtown St. Cloud attracted a large crowd to hear Chuck Swanson speak about the growing demand for regulartory affairs professionals in the state. Swanson, director of St. Cloud State University's master's program in regulatory affairs and services, said the first cohort of students will not graduate until this spring, but he already has received calls from companies looking to recruit them.

World Leader Bioscience Manufacturer Thrives in St. Cloud - Tuesday, August 19, 2008DCI Inc., an employee-owned company, is a world leader in the manufacturing and servicing of stainless steel storage and processing tanks. Since 1955, the St. Cloud-based company has served the food, dairy, beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetic industries, through design and fabrication services.

St. Cloud Alley Chat Set for Sept. 10 - Monday, August 18, 2008LifeScience Alley and the Science Initiative of Central Minnesota (SICM) have partnered to host a St. Cloud Alley Chat and After Hours event on September 10. Gray Plant Mooty law firm in St. Cloud will host the event at its newly remodeled space. St. Cloud State University and St. Cloud Technical College will sponsor the event. Register at www.lifesciencealley.org

Swanson Leads New RAS Program - Friday, August 01, 2008The chance to help develop a first-of-its kind regulatory affairs masters program led Charles Swanson to dedicate part of his retirement to charting its path for success. Swanson, recognized worldwide as a leading expert in medical device regulatory affairs, joined St. Cloud State University earlier this year as director of its new Master of Science in Regulatory Affairs and Services Program. As director, he is charting the direction and continued evolution of the program that is now accepting applications for the second cohort.

Recruitment Efforts Ramp Up - Monday, July 21, 2008Since its inception, the Science Initiative of Central Minnesota has been dedicated to strengthening the region’s position to attract science-related businesses and aid in recruitment efforts. Recently, SICM ramped up its efforts to promote the region and assist bioscience businesses in expanding here by creating a Business Recruitment Committee. Among the most promising prospects includes a bioscience company that is looking for a rural location to locate a new production facility.

SCSU Prepares to Attract S.T.E.M. Workforce - Thursday, July 10, 2008Central Minnesota is quickly achieving a prime position in the national and global marketplace of the science, technology, engineering and math (S.T.E.M.) industries. This spring St. Cloud State University received $900,000 in state bonding to jumpstart the planning process for a new, state-of-the-art science and engineering building. The new 100,000-square-foot building will serve mainly upper division and graduate students and is designed to promote interdisciplinary cooperation and intermingling of students and faculty.

MicroBioLogics Expands Research Capabilities - Tuesday, July 01, 2008MicroBioLogics Inc. prepares to expand its research and production capabilities with the recent addition of a researcher with a doctorate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. Karla Fjeld, a graduate of the College of St. Benedict, returned to Central Minnesota this spring to join the international distributor as an industrial quality control technologist and later this year will lead a research development team.

SICM Leaders Return from BIO '08 - Friday, June 20, 2008Leaders of the Science Initiative of Central Minnesota (SICM) returned this week from the BIO’ 08 Convention in San Diego, Calif. The International BIO Convention is the world’s largest gathering within the biotechnology industry. It drew more than 2,200 companies and 23,000 people worldwide.

Chuck Swanson to Speak at SICM After Hours - Thursday, June 12, 2008Leading Regulatory Affairs Expert and RAS Program Director Chuck Swanson will be the keynote speaker at the SICM After Hours event on Sept. 10 in St. Cloud. Swanson will speak about the growth of St. Cloud State University’s masters program in regulatory affairs and services and the vast changes in the regulatory process for bioscience companies.

SICM Partners with LifeScience Alley for Bioscience Event - Thursday, May 15, 2008The Science Initiative of Central Minnesota (SICM) and LifeScience Alley have partnered to host a bioscience networking event in St. Cloud on Sept. 10. This marks the second time the bioscience organizations have joined together to organize an event to build relationships in the industry and raise awareness about the future workforce opportunities.

John Reid Speaks at SICM After Hours - Thursday, April 17, 2008John Reid, CEO of AbbeyMoor Medical, was the keynote speaker at the SICM After Hours event in April. More than 75 business, academic and government leaders attended the event. Reid gave a demonstration of his company's cutting edge stent technology that was made possible with the help of St. Cloud-area investors.

Surrounded by text tubes, beakers and microscopes in the fastest growing country in the world, a group of College of St. Benedict and St. John'sUniversity students settle in every summer for an education of a lifetime as they partner with their Chinese peers on research.

Regulatory Affairs Director Named - Wednesday, January 02, 2008Charles (Chuck) Swanson, recognized worldwide as a leading expert in medical device regulatory affairs, has been appointed director of the St. Cloud State University Master of Science in Regulatory Affairs and Services (MS-RAS) Program. Professor David DeGroote, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, announced the appointment March 10.read more ...

he chances of attracting bioscience companies to the St. Cloud area are enhanced with the recent formal state approval of a Central Minnesota Bioscience Zone."Being accredited as a bioscience zone will allow us to compete in the world market with other zones in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Rochester," said State Representative Larry Haws. Minnesota Department of Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Dan McElroy announced that the greater St. Cloud area of Central Minnesota’s six-city joint application for Bioscience Zone Designation has been approved.